The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Vice President Atiku Abubakar on 1 June approved the licensing of seven new private universities in the country after receiving report of the stringent and rigorous screening exercise conducted by the National Universities Commission (NUC) through which they emerged.

The New Institutions are:

. Bells University of Technology, Badagry, Lagos state,

. Crawford University, Ogun State,

. Wukari University, Taraba State,

. Crescent University Abeokuta, Ogun State,

. Novena University, Delta State,

. Renaissance University, Enugu state and

. University of Mkar, Benue State

Education minister, Mr Liyel Imoke who gave the briefing on the outcome of the day's council meeting said that the seven scaled through the screening out of a total of 145 applications received between 1996 and 2002.

The screening included, among others, security reports on the trustees, their integrity, the quality of the academic programmes and the source of funding.

He disclosed that the institutions are expected to provide entrepreneurial and technical studies to complement those provided by existing tertiary educational institutions and noted that the approval brings to 23 the total number of private universities in the country.

The Minister also said that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) was processing applications for private polytechnics and that those that will be recommended would also be brought to FEC.

My reaction:[list][li]This is good news! We desperately need more Universities in Nigeria because the demand for University education for exceeds the supply. In addition to this, most of the federal and state universities are overcrowded.[/li][li]Federal Government, please, give us more Universities. What about the other 146 that applied?[/li][li]In view of the widespread discrimination againsy HNd. holders, why is the Government encouraging the creation of private Polytechnics?[/li][/list]

It is welcome news.At least if you've got the money, you can send your children to a university without necessarily repeating the UME exams as i see that all you got to do to enroll into these private universities is your money - as in with whatever UME score, you could apply and get admitted.

Is President Obasanjo morally right to have granted himself, the Vice President and IBB licences to own private varsities at a time Nigeria's public universities have been shut down for over 6 months? How will the children of the down-trodden masses get quality university education when the powers that be are systematically undermining public schools and establishing theirs with astronomical (and muderous) fees?

Peolples, looks like I'm the only one against the proliferation of this new universities...

To me I think the issue at hand is not the creation of universities but JOBS. At the end of one's tertiary education, of what use is one to the society? I think what has to be looked into is deeper than private universities to create admissions for JAMB takers...Our whole education policy needs to be revised to make graduates result oriented, of what benefits have the many universities already in existence been to Naija's technological take-off? ZILCH!So our education should be focused not in quantity but in quality of the graduates.

Also care should be taken of the older universities and they should not be allowed to go to the dogs as is currently the case- they are grossly underfunded.

Creation of universities creates employment because new staff would be recruited. Graduates can teach at least at a lower level before they get experienced. There will also be vacancies for people in the IT sector because of the inroduction of IT into school curriculum and other areas.

What harm has the proliferation of private schools - primary and secondary - done to the country? As Delarontus said, a lot of people get jobs and a lot of people get to go to school. Private schools have been known to provide better training in general at the primary and secondary school level. What makes university education any different?

We need more private universities. Covenant University has the highest level of course accreditation of all the schools in the country, and we need more of that. More, more, more. More than just seven.

There is no technologically-relevant country in the world that relies solely on universities as a form of tertiary education, and the its proliferation is absurd. Agreed, there is need for more input in the education sector, but the approach our government has taken has make mockery of the idea. We can not achieve long lasting success by executing policies "upside-down', and that is what has been going on. Technical colleges and universities are the sole of any nation and they both complement each other. What is likely to happen (or has happened) is the creation of an unbalanced system; then everything crumples and as usually we'll start again without set the foundation right.

I will give an example, how many car mechanics in Nigeria have gone through any form of serious formal training within the last 10 years? Yet we have more cars, many with advanced technology, and many more will enter our country, Nigeria lack a significant pool of skilled technicians that only well funded and managed technical schools can supply. The primary purpose of universities is not to provide employment of any sort; it is education and research. It is the product of research that generate other businesses and therefore more employment. Right now many of these universities are not interested in research, that is not even on their priority list...the owners just want to make a quick buck and move on.

You're right, but technicals schools are not a replacement to universities. They simply compliment them. Nigeria needs about 1000 institutes of higher learning, some universities, some specialized schools like for dance or music, and so forth, and some techni schools.

ASUU has 'expressed concern' over the rate at which the Federal Government is approving private universities. What a joke! The public university professors, pathetically, don't want competition!

They are claiming scarcity of lecturers which makes no sense: - How will we have enough lecturers when there are not enough universities to train them?- Did the private universities complain that they do not have enough lecturers to perform their duties?- Won't private universities be able to lure more top students into lecturing with higher salaries?- What about the many Nigerian lecturers abroad? Private universities can convince them to return!- Don't lecturers have the right to work for whichever university will give them the best pay?

Seun, i'm with you a 100% on this one. This topic is one that i am particularly passionate about. I want to see Private Universities in Nigeria give those public schools a run for their money. The sooner we become like the USA, where schools have to sweat to attract the best students and so have to put in their very best, the better for Nigeria.

Please I need the source to back up the statement that Covenant University has the highest accreditation with NUC.

Are you aware of the pathetic conditions of service in the private universities? I am not aware of any public university going on strike for up to 6 months in the past 6 years? What is the state of infrastructural development in these private universities?

Right now the highest paying university is the public one at bayelsa which is making use of its oil revenue money. How will you feel when the salary your paid at the end of the month is the one for the previous month to guard against your running away.

Some of you should take a visit to those private universities and see first hand what goes on there. I wont tell you what I saw.

Nobody is saying the private universities are perfect but it is still a big step in the right direction. The more schools we have, the more competition there will be among them for students and lecturers and the better the conditions will get both in private and government owned universities.

Thank you, Consultant and others. Human beings can always be counted upon to oppose progress and Nigerians are no exception. Lovers of progress must always be on guard to prevent the public from being manipulated.

And what is bad about private primary and secondary schools? I was a product of them and I did well in WAEC exams. Don't graduates of primary and secondary schools generally do better than public school students?

They are providing an excellent service and their reward for it is money. That's how and why capitalism works. Those who provide the highest quality of education will reap the highest level of rewards in form of money. This motivates the schools to do their best. The best way to motivate people to do the right thing: provide an adequate reward!

hi, i guess evry one has neglected this place cos there are exteremly new threads but i have sumthing to say , first am in one of those private universities benson idahosa university and life aint perfect there but we ve got good lecturers and all its not so easy to enter too so u dnt think its just for the money , we use jamb to get into school and life is just getting better, nuc has also approved most of our courses so u see , more private schools mean m,ore education , more jobs and less illetracy and seun for the second time how du i start a thread o nairaland.

It is really a shame that Nigerians can be so cynical about the importance of private universities to the growth of our country.Those who lambast Private Universities should rather show the usefulness of the education been received from their public universities by analyzing the achievement of Private Universities in the developed world.

Harvard always tops the lists of best universities in the world but Nigerians never bother to know that Harvard is a privately run University. The same goes for Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Vanderbilt and most of the Top Universities in the US.

I would rather suggest that Nigerians bid their time to watch the growth of private universities in the long run rather than expect a three year old university to become the best in the world. Hey the most successful enterprises, businesses, and organizations are privately run.

Fees in private universities are high because they are not funded by a Nigerian government that is only to happy to use that as an avenue to increase their wealth by millions. Thank you

-Make sure you have a complete SSCE result (not awaiting), and your JAMB.-Go to the school of your choice and buy the form-Show up on the test date and write the test-If you are contacted afterwards, show up for the interview, with your results and other stuffs.-If you do well, you are in.